Live the Bhāgavatam · SB 11.30.33
Nirodha· Winding upThe Arrow Only Touches the Lord’s Foot
“Just then a hunter named Jarā, who had approached the place, mistook the Lord’s foot for a deer’s face. Thinking he had found his prey, Jarā pierced the foot with his arrow, which he had fashioned from the remaining iron fragment of Sāmba’s club.”
What the purport teaches
- The hunter Jarā mistook the Lord’s foot for a deer’s face. His arrow was fashioned from the remaining iron fragment of Sāmba’s club.
- Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that “pierced the Lord’s foot” expresses the hunter’s point of view. The arrow actually only touched the Lord’s lotus foot, whose limbs are composed of eternity, knowledge and bliss.
- The purport notes that Śukadeva Gosvāmī does not describe the hunter extracting an arrow when he falls at the Lord’s feet. This supports the explanation that the foot was not pierced.
Try this today
Read the purport again and remember that Kṛṣṇa’s limbs are composed of eternity, knowledge and bliss.
Ask yourself
How does the purport help me distinguish the hunter’s perception from the nature of the Lord’s form?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
From Canto 10, chapter 14 onward, the translation and purports were completed by Śrīla Prabhupāda's disciples after his departure, and published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.